What's correlated with FCAT scores? Library size:
Allie Henderson has a full plate this week. "We'll be taking FCAT math, FCAT science and FCAT writing," said Henderson. Like thousands of other Lee County students, she's tackling the FCAT, Florida's standardized test. The good news - science is on her side.
A new study from the University of Central Florida shows a tie between large school libraries and high test scores. The more books, computers, and staff available the better students tested, by up to 20 percent. The theory seems to hold true in Southwest Florida.
Fort Myers High School has the only A grade on its state report card based on FCAT and it also has one of the biggest libraries. Only two other high schools in the district got a B grade -Cypress Lake High School and Estero High School. Both schools have at least three full-time librarians on staff and more than 18,000 books...
And it's not just books; libraries often have valuable tech resources for kids who don't have computers at home.
Florida isn't the only state to do this kind of study. At least six other states have also looked at the subject and found a strong link between libraries and test scores.
Not surprising.
Posted by kswygert at March 2, 2004 05:12 PM